New Spelling Books

From Purposeful Design Publications (Association of Christian Schools International)
Student book, teacher edition, and teacher resources for grades 1, 2, and 3

New Children's Books

Knights & Castles - Philip Dixon
Insiders brings knights & castles to life, with the most up-to-date information and state-of-the-art 3-D illustrations that practically leap off every page, stimulating minds and imaginations in a whole new way.

Dino-Why?: The Dinosaur Question & Answer Book - Sylvia Funston
Provides answers to children's questions about dinosaurs, such as which species would make the best pet, what would have happened if they weren't extinct, and if they hunted in packs.

Ghaddar the Ghoul and Other Palestinian Stories - Sonia Nimr
Contains retellings of nine Palestinian folktales of ghouls, animals, and magic.

Mercy Watson Thinks Like a Pig - Kate DiCamillo
After Mercy Watson follows the delightful scent and delicious taste of the pansies her thoughtful neighbors plant to beautify their yard, animal control officer Francine Poulet is called out to handle the case, which brings unexpected results.

The House in the Night - Susan Marie Swanson
Illustrations and easy-to-read text explore the light that makes a house in the night a home filled with light.

I'm the Best Artist in the Ocean - Kevin Sherry
A giant squid brags about being the best artist in the entire ocean.




A River of Words: The Story of William Carlos Williams - Jen Bryant
This picture book biography of William Carlos Williams traces childhood events that lead him to become a doctor and a poet.

Nanuk Flies Home - Christa Holtei
Captured by humans after trying to steal their food, a small, hungry polar bear cub realizes his dream--to fly. End notes provide facts about polar bears and describe how, during the month of October, several hundred polar bears gather in the small Canadian town of Churchill, near the Hudson Bay, to wait for the sea to freeze over.

Frankenstein Takes the Cake - Adam Rex
Frankenstein wants to marry his undead bride in peace, but his best man, Dracula, is freaking out about the garlic bread, and the Headless Horseman wishes everyone would stop drooling over his pumpkin head.

How to Behave and Why - Munro Leaf
Presents the four things people must be in order to live together pleasantly: honest, fair, strong, and wise.

The Vowel Family: A Tale of Lost Letters - Sally M. Walker
The members of the Vowel family have a hard time talking until their children, Alan, Ellen, Iris, Otto, and Ursula, are born, and when one of them gets lost one day, it takes their Aunt Cyndy to fix the problem.

New Graphic Format Books

Thoreau at Walden - John Porcellino
This graphic novel, narrated in Thoreau's own words, weaves together elements from "Walden," "Civil disobedience," "Walking," and Thoreau's journals to tell the story of his two years in the woods and of the night he spent in jail for refusing to pay a poll tax.

Chiggers - Hope Larson
When Abby returns to the same summer camp she always goes to, she is dismayed to find that her old friends have changed, and the only person who wants to be her friend is the strange new girl, Shasta.

Jules Verne's 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea - retold by Carl Bowen
Scientist Pierre Aronnax and his trusty servant set sail to hunt a monster. With help from Ned Land, the world's greatest harpooner, the men soon discover that the creature is really a high-tech submarine. To keep this secret from being revealed, the sub's leader, Captain Nemo, takes the men hostage.

Christian Education Resources

Zowie! 200+ Ministries Kids Can Do - Jill Goldner
Kids can minister to anyone -- Kids can minister to specific people -- Kids can minister in any season -- Kids can minister anytime -- Kids can minister anywhere

Christmas Extras: Faith-Filled Ideas for Celebrating Christmas
Creative activities for the Christmas season.

New Pop-Up Books

Fairies and Magical Creatures - Matthew Reinhart and Robert Sabuda
An illustrated pop-up book of more than thirty entries that explain the origins and magical world of fairies, and includes other magical creatures, such as elves, gnomes, pegasus, and mermaids.

When Pigs Fly...!: A Piggy Pop-Up Book! - Celine Malepart
A pop-up book featuring colorful illustrations of everyday sayings.

New YA Books

The Diamond of Drury Lane - Julia Golding
Orphan Catherine "Cat" Royal, living at the Drury Lane Theater in 1790s London, tries to find the "diamond" supposedly hidden in the theater, which unmasks a treasonous political cartoonist, and involves her in the street gangs of Covent Garden and the world of nobility.

The Girl Who Could Fly - Victoria Forester
When homeschooled farm girl Piper McCloud reveals her ability to fly, she is quickly taken to a secret government facility to be trained with other exceptional children, but she soon realizes that something is very wrong and begins working with brilliant and wealthy Conrad to escape.

Nick of Time - Ted Bell
Nick McIver is no ordinary boy, fighting pirates, beating Nazis at their own game, and traveling through time.

House of Many Ways - Diana Wynne Jones
When Charmain is asked to housesit for Great Uncle William, the Royal Wizard of Norland, she is ecstatic to get away from her parents, but finds that his house is much more than it seems.

L Is for Lollygag: Quireky Words for a Clever Tongue
Contains alphabetically arranged entries that provide definitions of quirky words, each with a pronunciation guide.

Shift - Jennifer Bradbury
When best friends Chris and Win go on a cross country bicycle trek the summer after graduating and only one returns, the FBI wants to know what happened.

Clementine's Letter - Sara Pennypacker
Clementine's beloved teacher, Mr. D'Matz might be leaving for the rest of the year to go on a research trip to Egypt. The only solution, she decides, is to hatch a plan to get Mr. D'Matz back even if it means ruining his once-in-a-lifetime chance.

Gone - Michael Grant
In a small town on the coast of California, everyone over the age of fourteen suddenly disappears, setting up a battle between the remaining town residents and the students from a local private school, as well as those who have "The Power" and are able to perform supernatural feats and those who do not.

The Mystery of the Third Lucretia - Susan Runholt
While traveling in London, Paris, and Amsterdam, fourteen-year-old best friends Kari and Lucas solve an international art forgery mystery.

Hiroshima Dreams - Kelly Easton
Lin O'Neil, a talented but shy girl growing up in Providence, Rhode Island, develops a close relationship with her Japanese grandmother, who shares Lin's gift of precognition. Asian/Pacific American Award Book

The Magician: Book Two of The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel - Michael Scott
Fifteen-year-old twins Sophie and Josh Newman continue their magical training in Paris with Nicholas Flamel, Scatty, and the Comte de Sant Germaine, pursued by Doctor Dee and the immortal Niccolo Machiavelli.

Juliet's Moon - Ann Rinaldi
In Missouri in 1863, twelve-year-old Juliet Bradshaw learns to rely on herself and her brother, a captain with Quantrill's Raiders, as she sees her family home burned, is imprisoned by Yankees, and then kidnapped by a blood-crazed Confederate soldier.

New Professional Resources

Picture-Perfect Science Lessons: Using Children's Books to Guide Inquiry, 3-6 - Karen Ansberry
Provides fifteen lesson plans that incorporate picture books into the science curriculum.

Pre-K - Grade 2: Mathematics Assessment Sampler - NCTM
This sampler presents assessment tasks that are appropriate for use with students from age 4 through age 8. The book provides teachers of primary grades mathematics with examples of assessment tasks that reflect the various ways assessments can be used prior to, during, and following mathematics instruction. Teachers can then consider the potential of these tasks to uncover the mathematical understandings of their students for the purpose of planning further instruction. Each task can be altered by changing the context, breaking the task into subparts, limiting the scope or complexity of the task, or extending the task to provide more challenge or enhance the depth of understanding being assessed.

New Music Curriculum

Exploring Choral Music (Grades 6-12) - Glencoe
Set of 24 books covering all aspects of choral singing, from beginning to advanced students.

New Science and Math Activity Books

More Picture-Perfect Science Lessons: Using Children's Books to Guide Inquiry, K-4 - Karen Ansberry and Emily Morgan
Presents fifteen lessons that use fiction and nonfiction picture books to teach about physical, life, earth, and space science, following the Biological Sciences Curriculum Study's 5E instructional model and featuring exploration questions.

Cartoon Corner: Humor-Based mathematics Activities
Ways to use cartoons in the classroom -- Algebraic thinking -- Fractions, decimals, and percent -- Geometry and measurement -- Holidays -- Numbers and numeration -- Ratio and proportion -- Data analysis and probability.

New YA Books

The Adoration of Jenna Fox - Mary Pearson
In the not-too-distant future, when biotechnological advances have made synthetic bodies and brains possible but illegal, a seventeen-year-old girl, recovering from a serious accident and suffering from memory lapses, learns a startling secret about her existence.

Forever Rose - Hilary McKay
As Christmas approaches, eleven-year-old Rose, the youngest member of the eccentric Casson family, discovers that life is filled with both catastrophic problems and wonderful surprises.

Ever - Gail Carson Levine
Teenaged Kezi is to be sacrificed to the Hyte god because of a rash promise made by her father, but young Olus, Akkan god of the winds, falls in love with her and together they try to change her fate through a series of quests.

Peeled - Joan Bauer
In an upstate New York farming community, high school reporter Hildy Biddle investigates a series of strange occurrences at a house rumored to be haunted.

Little Brother - Cory Doctorow
After being interrogated for days by the Department of Homeland Security in the aftermath of a major terrorist attack on San Francisco, California, seventeen-year-old Marcus, released into what is now a police state, decides to use his expertise in computer hacking to set things right.

Bone by Bone by Bone - Tony Johnston
In 1950s Tennessee, ten-year-old David's racist father refuses to let him associate with his best friend Malcolm, an African American boy.

The Battle of the Labyrinth - Rick Riordan
When demonic cheerleaders invade his high school, Percy Jackson hurries to Camp Half Blood, from whence he and his demigod friends set out on a quest through the Labyrinth, while the war between the Olympians and the evil Titan lord Kronos draws near.

How the Hangman Lost His Heart - K.M. Grant
When her Uncle Frank is executed for treason against England's King George in 1746 and his severed head is mounted on a pike for public viewing, daring Alice tries to reclaim the head for a proper burial, finding an unlikely ally in the soft-hearted executioner, while incurring the wrath of the royal guard.

Shooting the Moon - Frances O'Roark Dowell
When her brother is sent to fight in Vietnam, twelve-year-old Jamie begins to reconsider the army world that she has grown up in.

Six Innings - James Preller
Earl Grubb's Pool Supplies plays Northeast Gas & Electric in the Little League championship game, while Sam, who has cancer and is in a wheelchair, has to call the play-by-play instead of participating in the game.

All We Know of Heaven - Jacquelyn Mitchard
When Maureen and Bridget, two sixteen-year-old best friends who look like sisters, are in a terrible car accident and one of them dies, they are at first incorrectly identified at the hospital, and then, as Maureen achieves a remarkable recovery, she must deal with the repercussions of the accident, the mix-up, and some choices she made while she was getting better.

The Red Necklace - Sally Gardner
In the late eighteenth-century, Sido, the twelve-year-old daughter of a self-indulgent marquis, and Yann, a fourteen-year-old Gypsy orphan raised to perform in a magic show, face a common enemy at the start of the French Revolution.

Savvy - Ingrid Law
Recounts the adventures of Mibs Beaumont, whose thirteenth birthday has revealed her "savvy"--a magical power unique to each member of her family--just as her father is injured in a terrible accident.

March Toward the Thunder - Joseph Bruchac
Louis Nollette, a fifteen-year-old Abenaki Indian, joins the Irish Brigade in 1864 to fight for the Union in the Civil War. Based on the author's great-grandfather; includes author's note.

The Great Adventure: Theodore Roosevelt and the Rise of Modern America - Albert Marrin
Theodore Roosevelt is one of America's liveliest and most influential figures. He was a scholar, cowboy, war hero, explorer, and a brilliant politician. As president, Roosevelt's far-reaching policies abroad and at home forever changed both our nation's place in the world and the life of every modern American.

New Readers' Theater Resources

Readers' Theater helps build oral fluency and strengthens reading and language arts skills for students. It also promotes teamwork and helps develop student confidence. There are six books in the series: Grade 1, Grade 2, Grade 3, Grade 4, Grade 5, Grade6+.

New Music Book

Get in the Groove: Discovering Jazz Using Orff and Classroom Instruments - Donna Dirksing and Cathy Blair
Cathy Blair and Donna Dirksing team up to introduce improvisation and other jazz concepts. The included CD features many speech and instrument echo examples, demonstration recordings of the Orff ensembles, and optional accompaniment tracks for improvisation.

New Professional Resource

Multicultural and Ethnic Children's Literature in the United States - Donna L. Gilton
Multicultural children's literature : an introduction -- A history of U.S. multicultural children's literature -- General trends in the field -- Specific ethnic initiatives and conclusions -- Where to go from here : emerging groups and issues.

New YA Books

The Joys of Love - Madeleine L'Engle
After graduating from college in 1941, Elizabeth Jerrold pursues her dream of becoming a stage actress, landing a position as an apprentice in a summer theater company where she hones her acting skills and falls in love with an aspiring director.

Sunrise Over Fallujah - Walter Dean Myers
Robin Perry, from Harlem, is sent to Iraq in 2003 as a member of the Civilian Affairs Battalion, and his time there profoundly changes him.

Twice Upon a Marigold - Jean Ferris
After a quiet, happy year in a small town, Queen Olympia regains her memory and initiates new plots and manipulations, as the residents of Zandelphia and Beaurivage, now ruled by Christian, Marigold, and Swithbert, feel the effects of her bad energy.

The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks - E. Lockhart
Sophomore Frankie starts dating senior Matthew Livingston, but when he refuses to talk about the all-male secret society that he and his friends belong to, Frankie infiltrates the society in order to enliven their mediocre pranks.

Trouble - Gary D. Schmidt
Fourteen-year-old Henry, wishing to honor his brother Franklin's dying wish, sets out to hike Maine's Mount Katahdin with his best friend and dog. But fate adds another companion--the Cambodian refugee accused of fatally injuring Franklin--and reveals troubles that predate the accident.

Bird Lake Moon - Kevin Henkes
Twelve-year-old Mitch and his mother are spending the summer with his grandparents at Bird Lake after his parents separate, and ten-year-old Spencer and his family have returned to the lake where Spencer's little brother drowned long ago, and as the boys become friends and spend time together, each of them begins to heal.

Infidel - Ted Dekker
As Johnis and the other "chosen" recruits of the Forest Guard are pulled into deeper danger to secure the seven lost Books of History, Johnis tries to rescue his mother from enslavement by the Horde, but risks betraying the Forest Dwellers.

Once Upon a Time in the North - Philip Pullman
In a time before Lyra Silvertongue was born, the tough American balloonist Lee Scoresby and the great armoured bear Iorek Byrnison meet when Lee and his hare daemon Hester crash-land their trading balloon onto a port in the far Arctic North and find themselves right in the middle of a political powder keg.

The Seer of Shadows - Avi
In New York City in 1872, fourteen-year-old Horace, a photographer's apprentice, becomes entangled in a plot to create fraudulent spirit photographs, but when Horace accidentally frees the real ghost of a dead girl bent on revenge, his life takes a frightening turn.

The Mysterious Benedict Society and the Perilous Journey - Trenton Lee Stewart
Reynie, Kate, Sticky, and Constance, all graduates of the Learning Institute for the Very Enlightened and members of the Benedict Society, embark on a scavenger hunt that turns into a desperate search for the missing Mr. Benedict.

100 Cupboards - N. D. Wilson
After his parents are kidnapped, timid twelve-year-old Henry York leaves his sheltered Boston life and moves to small-town Kansas, where he and his cousin Henrietta discover and explore hidden doors in his attic room that seem to open onto other worlds.

Gods of Manhattan - Scott Mebus
Thirteen-year-old Rory discovers a spirit world that thrives alongside his contemporary New York City, filled with fantastical creatures and people from the city's colorful past who have become gods and goddesses and who have chosen Rory to perform a dangerous mission.